Key

Steel key with a solid oval shaped bow with a crowned 'V R No 255' engraved on one side and 'Sir Alexh Cockburn. Hertford St.t' engraved on the other.

This key provided access to Hyde Park. Between 1790 and 1804, local householders paid the Office of Works to construct private gates through the park walls into Hyde Park. For at least another four decades after, the Office issued individually numbered, non-transferable keys, granting entry only during permitted hours.

Sir Alexander James Edmund Cockburn, 12th Baronet (24 September 1802 – 20 November 1880) was a British jurist and politician who served as Lord Chief Justice for 21 years. He heard some of the most sensational trials of the 19th century. Cockburn died of angina pectoris at his house at 40 Hertford Street, Mayfair, London. He had continued working up until his death despite three heart attacks and warnings from his doctor. Alexander never married and acknowledged two illegitimate children. He is buried in Catacomb A at Kensal Green Cemetery.